Agabus was a new testament prophet who prophesied that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world.From the earliest days, God has used prophets to deliver special messages to His people, and this role continued into the early church through people like Agabus.
After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, the apostles began telling people about Him, and the church of the New Testament was founded in Jerusalem. Later people carried the gospel to places like Antioch in Syria, and local churches were formed there as well.
A church leader named Barnabas teamed up with Saul (later called Paul), and they taught for one year in the church in Antioch. During that time, some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem, including a man named Agabus, who prophesied that a severe famine would spread throughout the Roman world.
In anticipation of this, the church in Antioch chose to send a gift of money with Saul and Barnabas to help those living in Jerusalem (Acts 11:25–30). Later we hear from Agabus again at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul was at Caesarea preparing to go up to Jerusalem, and Agabus bound him with his belt to signify how the Jewish leaders would bind Paul and hand him over to the Gentiles (Acts 21:10–11).
Both prophecies of Agabus eventually came true, showing that he was a legitimate prophet. Throughout his ministry, Paul delivered several gifts of money to the believers in Jerusalem. Mention of such a collection is made in Romans 15:25–28; 1 Corinthians 16:1; and 2 Corinthians 8–9.
